I 


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the  Internet  Archive 

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CHOSEN  BY  THE 

NHABITANTS  OF  THE   CITY  OF  BOSTON, 

TO  TAKE  INTO  CONSIDERATION 

THE  EXPEDIENCY  OF  AUTHORIZING  THE  CITY  COUNCIL 
TO  MAKE  SALE  OF  THE 

LYING  WEST  OF  CHARLES  STREET. 

1824. 

The  Committee  who  were  appointed  in  pursuance 
0f  the,  vote  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  City  of  Boston,  ou 
the  26th  day  of  July  last,  to  consider,  whether-lst 
Shall  the  CUy  Council  have  authority  to .  make ^e  o 
all  the  upland  and  flats  owned  by  the  City,  lying  west 
of  Charles  Street,  on  such  terms  and  at  such  times  as 
ly  deem  expedient?    2d.  Shall  they  have authority 
to  annex  it,  as  a  condition  to  such  sales,  that  the  land 
known  by  the  name  of  the  Common  and  lying  between 
ChaTles'Beacon,  Park,  Common  and  Boylstoi .Streets 
ihall  be  forever  after  kept  open  and  free  of  buildings 


2 


of  any  kind,  for  the  use  of  the  citizens?  and  to  report 
on  the  subject,  have  attended  to  the  business  confided 
to  them,  with  the  diligence  which  its  importance  de- 
manded. They  have  held  repeated  meetings,  in  which 
the  subject  was  discussed;  they  made  an  examination 
of  the  premises  iu  company  with  the  Mayor,  several 
of  the  Aldermen,  and  the  City  Surveyor,  they  care- 
fully considered  the  plans  and  drawings  which  had 
been  submitted  to  the  inspection  of  the  citizens  at  Fan- 
euil  Hall,  and  divers  other  plans  for  different  modes 
of  improving  the  premises,  and  have  come  to  an  unan- 
imous opinion,  that,  under  the  present  incumbrances  of 
the  title,  (hereafter  explained,)  it  would  he  unsafe  and 
improvident,  at  the  present  time,  to  authorize  a  sale 
of  the  property  in  question,  and  (three  only  of  the 
Committee  dissenting)  that  it  cannot  be  for  the  inter- 
est of  the  citizens  of  Boston,  even  if  the  title  was 
perfect,  that  the  upland  and  flats  west  of  Charles 
Street,  should  be  sold  for  building  lots.  In  support 
of  this  opinion,  the  Committee  submit  to  their  fellow 
citizens  the  following  statement  and  remarks.  First, 
of  the  title — "The  upland  and  flats  lying  west  of 
Charles  Street,"  belong  to  the  City  by  being  a  part 
of  the  Common  and  by  no  other  title.  The  original 
location  of  the  Common  extended  westwardly  to  the 
tide-water,  and  the  ownership  of  the  flats  is  appurte- 
nant to  the  upland  as  far  as  low- water-mark.  By  the 
city  charter  the  City  Council  have  authority  to  sell 
any  part  of  the  city  property,  except  Faneuil  Hall 
and  the  Common,  and  it  is  this  restriction  only,  that 
prohibits  the  sale  of  the  premises,  which  are  a  part  of 
the  Common,  without  permission  of  the  inhabitants. 
In  1794,  a  right  was  given  to  sundry  persons,  to  oc- 
cupy a  part  of  the  premises,  for  ropewalks,  on  certain 
conditions;  by  virtue  of  which,  they  entered  upon  and 
continued  to  occupy  them  for  that  purpose,  till  the 
present  year.  The  City  Council  agreed  to  purchase 
a  relinquishment  of  this  right  of  occupation,  at  a  price 
to  be  settled  by  reference  5  and  have  accordingly  paid 


and  becdH£  liable  to  pay  fifty  four  thousand  dollars, 
and  the  ropewalks  will  very  soon  be  removed. 

On  the  12th  of  October,  1813,  an  agreement  waa 
made  with  the  petitioners  for  the  Boston  and  Roxbury 
Mill  Corporation,  and  an  apt  of  incorporation  was 
granted  to  them  by  the  Legislature,  on  the  11th  of 
June,  1814,  and  confirmed  with  alterations,  on  the 
19th  of  June,  1816. 

In  pursuance  of  that  act,  and  on  the  faith  of  the  se- 
curity obtained  by  their  agreement  with  the  Town,  an 
immense  sum  of  money  has  been  expended  by  that 
Corporation,  and  works  in  novelty  and  magnitude, 
unequalled  (with  one  exception)  in  the  United  States, 
have  been  erected,  which  are  too  well  known  to  our 
fellow  citizens,  to  require  enumeration. 

It  is  obvious  however,  that  the  existence  of  the  mill 
power  of  that  Corporation,  depends  on  their  right  to 
maintain  a  receiving  basin  of  sufficient  size  and  capa- 
city, for  the  water  that  is  discharged  at  the  sluice- 
ways of  their  mills ;  and  it  is  equally  obvious,  that  if 
the  right  of  the  proprietors  of  the  adjoining  upland  to 
fill  up  to  the  channel,  is  now  in  full  force,  this  receiv- 
ing basin  may  be  destroyed,  and  their  works  rendered 
useless. 

If  the  proprietors  on  one  side  can  appropriate  the 
flats  to  building  lots,  those  on  the  other  must  have  an 
equal  right  to  do  the  same,  until  the  whole  receiving 
basin  is  confined  to  the  channel. 

The  City  claims  this  right.  The  Mayor  so  stated 
it,  both  by  letter  and  in  conversation  with  the  Com- 
mittee, and  the  plan  drawn  by  Messrs.  Paris  &  Hall, 
lays  out  ranges  of  lots  from  Charles  Street  to  the 
channel. 

On  the  part  of  the  City  it  is  maintained,  that  the 
grant  made  by  the  Town,  in  1814,  is  wholly  void 
and  of  no  effect,  because  the  Boston  and  Roxbury 
Mill  Corporation  have  not  complied  with  the  terms  on 
which  it  was  made;  and  that  so  far  as  any  claims  of 
that  Corporation,  are  dependent  on  the  act  of  the  Le- 


4 


gislaWe,  the  same  are  wholly  invalidated  by  (lie  non- 
compliance of  the  Corporation,  With  the  terms  of 
the  act. 

On  the  part  of  the  Boston  and  ftoxbory  Mill  Cor- 
poration it  is  contended,  that  the  conditions  of  the 
grant  from  the  Town,  were  changed  by  the  Legisla- 
ture, in  opposition  to  the  wishes  and  interest  of  the 
Corporation,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Town,  with  their 
implied  consent.  That  in  1820,  when  the  works 
were  nearly  finished  on  the  present  plan,  the  Corpo- 
ration were  allowed  two  years  more  for  their  comple- 
tion, upon  the  original  conditions,  which  must  mean 
such  of  them  as  might  then  be  lawfully  performed. 
The  Corporation  so  understood  it,  and  went  on  in 
good  faith  and  performed  them;  and  they  contend, 
"that  any  other  construction  would  be  a  mere  quib- 
ble, discreditable  to  the  character  of  the  City."  They 
maintain  therefore,  that  they  have  incurred  no  forfeit- 
lire,  and  are  entitled  to  all  the  rights  and  privileges 
necessary  for  the  successful  operation  of  their  great 
enterprize,  and  have  distinctly  intimated  « that  an  at- 
tempt to  fill  up  the  whole  space  between  Charles 
Street  and  the  channel,  would  be  so  ruinous  to  them, 
that  it  would  undoubtedly  be  opposed  by  all  legal 
means  to  the  last." 

The  Committee  have  not  thought  it  within  their 
province  to  ascertain,  even  if  it  were  possible,  which 
of  the  parties  have  the  right  side  of  the  question,  be- 
cause it  is  exceedingly  obvious,  that  an  important  dif- 
ference of  opinion  exists  between  the  City  and  the 
Boston  and  Roxbury  Mill  Corporation,  as  to  their  re- 
spective rights ;  and  that  this  controversy  must  be 
settled  by  compromise  or  by  law,  before  it  would  be 
safe  or  profitable  for  the  City  to  engage  in  a  specula- 
tion, the  success  of  which,  can  be  only  expected  to 
follow  from  an  undisputed  and  unincumbered  title  to 
all  the  property  in  question. 

No  prudent  man  could  advise  the  City  to  give  a 
warranty  deed  of  this  property,  while  their  right  to 


5 


do  so,  was  in  litigation,  nor  could  any  person,  for  the 
purposes  of  actual  occupation,  be  expected  to  purchase 
a  lot  thus  circumstanced,  by  a  mere  deed  of  quit- 
claim. That  speculators  might  be  found  to  adventure 
In  sikh  a  lottery,  is  not  to  be  doubted;  but  their  in- 
ducement to  embark  in  the  scheme,  would  only  be  the 
diminution  of  price  produced  by  such  uncertainty  of 
title  :  the  loss  being  the  City's,  and  their's  the  gain. 

The  alleged  right  of  the  City,  it  appears,  results 
from  forfeiture,  and  the  failure  of  the  Corporation  to 
perform  its  agreements:  and  these  titles  are  not  only 
the  hardest,  generally  speaking,  to  acquire,  but  al- 
ways present  questions  of  difficult  solution;  especially 
when  subsequent  acts  or  agreements  have  varied  the 
original  contract  out  of  which  they  arise. 

But  if  the  right  of  the  City  was  perfectly  well  as- 
certained, yet  should  the  exercise  of  that  right  be 
ruinous  to  the  Mill  Corporation,  it  would  certainly 
deserve  grave  consideration,  whether  such  exercise  of 
the  right  would  be  expedient  and  advantageous  to  our 
fellow  citizens.  Might  not  some  compromise  of  con- 
flicting interests  be  made  on  terms  mutually  benefi- 
cial? Is  it  desirable  to  destroy  a  vast  amount  of 
invested  and  taxable  property,  on  a  scheme  that  may 
or  may  not  reproduce  it  in  a  different  form  ? 

If  the  legal  rights  of  the  City  may  be  exercised  so 
as  to  destroy  or  greatly  injure  the  mill  privileges  of 
this  Corporation,  those  rights  are  a  property  which 
the  Corporation  would  be  compelled  to  purchase  at 
any  reasonable  price ;  and  their  value  in  this  connec- 
tion must  be  much  greater  than  in  any  other  mode  of 
disposal.  If  on  the  contrary,  the  Corporation  have, 
as  they  pretend  they  have,  all  the  legal  rights  which 
are  necessary  for  the  prosecution  of  their  valuable  ob- 
jects, the  great  scheme  proposed  by  the  sale  of  lots, 
cannot  be  carried  into  effect,  because  the  title  of  the 
City  to  a  portion  of  the  premises  would  not  have  a 
legal  foundation. 

The  Committee  are  therefore  unauimously  and  de- 


6 


cidedly  of  opinion,  that  no  sale  of  the  upland  and  flats 
west  of  Charles  Street,  can  be  made,  until  this  contro- 
versy with  the  proprietors  of  the  Boston  and  Roxbury 
Mill  Corporation  is  settled  by  a  compromise  or  by 
law.  But  it  is  important  that  this  settlement  should 
be  made  as  speedily  as  possible,  and  the  rights  of 
both  parties  ascertained. 

This  subject  being  put  at  rest,  as  at  no  distant  time 
it  may  be,  and  the  title  of  the  City  to  the  upland,  and 
the  whole  or  part  of  the  flats,  being  confirmed,  the 
question  fairly  presents  itself  whether  the  interest  of 
the  City  would  be  promoted  by  a  sale. 

The  plan  for  the  disposal  of  this  property,  which 
was  exhibited  at  Faneuil  Hall,  and  which  has  been 
carefully  examined  by  the  Committee,  supposes  that 
the  premises  can  be  appropriated  for  three  hundred 
and  twenty  one  house  lots,  that  they  would  sell  for 
two  thousand  dollars  on  average  of  each  lot.  That 
spacious  streets  and  squares,  or  malls,  may  be  laid 
out,  of  uncommon  ornament  and  convenience,  at  an 
expense  not  exceeding  fifty  thousand  dollars.  The 
picture,  which  accompanied  this  plan,  displayed  splen- 
did and  beautiful  buildings,  in  blocks  unequalled  for 
uniformity  and  elegance ;  and  whenever  such  a  scheme 
can  be  accomplished,  these  flats,  now  ten  feet  below 
the  level  of  Charles  Street,  and  at  present  a  marsh  of 
sedge  aud  mud,  would  be  converted  into  magnificent 
squares,  where  regularity  of  plan  would  be  equalled 
only  by  elegance  of  architecture;  a  vast  amount  of 
property  would  be  added  to  the  taxable  capital  of  the 
City;  a  fund  provided  for  the  treasury  to  indemnify 
itself  against  the  losses  of  less  profitable  speculation; 
and  an  addition  made  to  the  accommodations  and 
comfort  of  the  inhabitants,  beyond  the  utmost  range 
of  all  former  improvements. 

It  has  been  the  misfortune  of  this  Committee  to  find 
that  this  beautiful  scheme,  which  looks  so  delightfully 
on  paper,  is  the  delusion  of  a  too  sanguine  imagina- 
tion, laudably  interested  for  public  improvement,  and 
can  never  be  realized. 


It  is  certain,  from  the  foregoing  remarks,  that  there 
cannot  be  the  number  of  building  lots,  which  the  plan 
exhibits. 

The  City,  it  is  to  be  presumed,  will  make  some  ar- 
rangement with  the  Mill  Corporation,  which  will 
leave  to  them  the  enjoyment  of  their  water  privileges, 
and  of  course  some  distance  must  be  reserved  between 
Charles  Street  and  the  channel,  not  to  be  built  upon. 

If  the  Corporation  are  right  in  their  position  that 
the  City  has  no  title  to  build  to  the  channel,  then  the 
proposed  plan  is  incorrect.  If  the  City's  claim  be  ad- 
mitted, and  the  Corporation  must  purchase  a  reservoir 
by  the  payment  of  money,  or  by  the  relinquishment  of 
other  rights,  still,  as  the  ground  could  not  be  appro- 
priated for  building  lots,  the  number  exhibited  by  the 
plan  is  erroneous,  and  the  amount  to  be  received,  cal- 
culated by  the  sale  of  that  number  of  lots,  would  be 
proportionally  reduced. 

But  the  Committee  do  not  place  much  reliance  on 
this  objection,  because  according  to  their  estimate  of 
the  value  of  the  ground  for  building  lots,  the  number 
would  not  materially  affect  the  result;  and  they  ad- 
duce the  fact  only  to  shew  the  impracticability  of  the 
scheme  which  has  been  submitted  to  the  inhabitants. 

After  an  adjustment,  with  the  Boston  and  Hoxbury 
Mill  Corporation,  instead  of  three  hundred  and  twenty 
one  lots,  the  number  on  the  plan;  the  Committee  sup- 
pose there  would  remain  two  hundred  and  eleven. 

In  order  "  to  prepare  and  fit  these  lands  suitably  to 
be  offered  for  sale,"  a  Committee  of  the  Common  Coun- 
cil reported  the  materials,  and  estimate  as  follows : 

"It  will  require  a  wall  on  the  westerly  side  of  said 
land  sixteen  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long,  five  feet  broad 
at  the  bottom,  and  two  feet  at  the  top,  and  ten  feet  high ; 
above  the  level  of  the  street  it  will  require  a  wall  laid 
in  lime  mortar,  same  length,  three  feet  high,  eighteen 
inches  broad  at  bottom,  and  twelve  at  the  top,  capped 
with  hammered  stone.  There  must  be  a  street,  the 
whole  length  running  parallel  with  the  wall,  seventy 


8 


feet  broad,  and  four  other  streets  at  right  angles  with 
Charles  Street,  one  hundred  and  forty  feet  broad,  each 
must  be  filled  With  dirt  a  suitable  and  proper  height, 
agreeable  to  the  plan  herewith  exhibited,  drawn  by 
A.  Parris,  1824, 

The  materials  and  estimate  are  as  follows,  viz. : 

2.400  perch  Stone,  82^  6,000 

1,650  feet,  Wall  in  Mortar,  2,000 

1.650  feet,  Capping  Stone,  12s,  3,300 

2.400  tons  Ballast  Stone,  50  cts.  -  -  -  -  1,200 
22,000  squares  of  Dirt,  $1  §,   33,000 

Making  $45,500 

"Your  Committee  cannot  say  precisely  how  much 
will  be  necessary  for  the  expenditure;  they  however, 
with  much  confidence  state  that  850,000  will  be  the 
extent  of  any  requrmnent  of  the  City,  for  the  purpose- 
of  performing  the  beforenamed  services  and  fitting  the 
land  for  sale." 

This  sum  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  is  for  making  the 
streets  alone,  leaving  the  building  lots  In  their  present 
condition.  It  includes  nothing  for  the  settling  of  the 
ground,  for  paving  or  lighting  the  new  streets,  or  for 
the  expense  of  ornamenting  them,  according  to  the 
plan  which  was  exhibited.  The  estimate  is  also  made 
on  a  presumption  that  the  ground  would  fall  off  from 
the  level  of  Charles  Street,  four  feet  to  the  channel; 
but  the  Committee  cannot  believe  that  it  would  com- 
port with  the  convenience  or  style  of  the  contemplated 
buildings,  to  place  them  so  1owt.  They  are  of  opinion, 
that  Charles  Street  and  the  adjacent  lots  must  be  rais- 
ed at  least  four  feet:  and  that  the  slope  to  the  west- 
Avard  would  bring  the  further  lots  to  the  present  level 
of  that  street.  Even  this  would  be  lower  than  the 
proprietors  of  such  costly  buildings  would  be  willing 
they  should  stand. 

The  Committee  are  of  opinion  therefore,  that  to 


9 


prepare  the  land  to  be  sold,  without  including  the  ex- 
pense of  paving,  or  lighting,  or  fencing,  would  requite 
fifty  oue  thousand,  four  hundred  and  seventy  eight 
squares  of  earth.  That  the  situation  of  the  ground 
and  its  great  extent,  would  make  the  price  two  dollars 
and  fifty  cents  per  square.  Therefore, 

57,478  squares,  at  S2  50,  -  143,695 
Wall,  as  per  estimate,     -    -  12,500 

8156,195 

An  actual  expenditure  must  therefore  be  incurred  of 
one  hundred  and  fifty  six  thousand,  one  hundred  and 
ninety  five  dollars,  according  to  the  calculations  of  this 
Committee;  instead  of  the  sum  of  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars, as  reported  to  the  City  Council. 

In  all  estimates  for  extensive  alterations,  the  amount 
is  invariably  found  to  be  too  low.  What  is  known  can 
be  provided  for,  but  the  thousand  casualties  which  oc- 
cur in  any  great  enterprize,  bring  their  own  sources  of 
expense,  which  cannot  be  foreseen.  This  must  be  ta- 
ken into  the  account  according  to  the  view  which  may 
be  had  of  its  probable  amount. 

The  vast  quantity  of  earth  which  would  be  required 
for  the  purpose  of  raising  this  land,  forms  one  obvious 
item  of  uncertain  expense.  It  is  calculated,  in  the  es- 
timate of  the  Common  Council,  at  one  dollar  and  fifty 
cents  per  square,  for  which  sum  undoubtedly  a  limited 
number  of  squares  may  be  obtained ;  but  to  fill  up  the 
whole  ground  on  a  level  with  Charles  Street,  will 
take  sixty  two  thousand  two  hundred  and  eighty  three 
squares :  which,  since  the  levelling  of  the  hills  and 
other  improvements  in  the  City,  could  not  be  obtained 
w  ithout  greatly  increasing  the  price. 

What  price  could  be  commanded  for  the  lots  after 
the  expenditure  of  fifty  thousand  dollars,  according  to 
one  calculation,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  six  thou- 
sand dollars,  according  to  another? 
2 


10 


This  must  be  determined  by  the  use  to  which  the 
lots  could  be  applied. 

The  plan  supposes  they  would  be  occupied  for  val- 
uable and  expensive  buildings. 

The  Committee  are  of  a  different  opiniou.  It  may 
be  said  they  should  be  sold,  subject  to  the  condition  of 
erecting  brick  dwelling  houses.  The  answer  is,  with 
that  condition  they  could  not  be  sold  at  all. 

The  lots  on  Charles  Street  might  indeeft  be  sold  for 
that  purpose,  although  there  is  a  morass  on  a  part  of 
that  street,  which  would  make  the  building  of  dwelling 
houses  in  that  part,  a  very  unreasonable  expense.  But 
the  Committee  are  persuaded  the  lots  could  not  be  used 
for  valuable  brick  dwelling  houses.  They  are  too  re- 
mote from  the  centre  of  business.  People  are  not  yet 
driven  there  from  necessity,  and  would  not  go  by 
choice.  In  a  great  part  of  the  laud,  there  is  no  spring 
of  water  to  be  obtained.  Foundations  on  made  land 
are  insecure,  and  the  walls  of  buildings  liable  to  crack. 
The  nature  of  a  made  soil  renders  it  peculiarly  insalu- 
brious in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  proportioned  to  the 
extent  of  the  surface  which  is  made.  The  additional 
expense  of  building  on  this  ground  after  the  lot  was 
purchased,  would  be  a  subject  of  serious  consideration, 
and  it  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  the  City's  land  on 
the  Neck,  which  has  been  a  long  time  in  the  market, 
would  be  a  better  site  and  command  a  higher  price 
than  the  lots  in  the  second  and  other  back  ranges  of 
the  proposed  location. 

Instead,  therefore,  of  having  the  premises  covered 
writh  substantial  brick  buildings,  according  to  the  pic- 
ture, or  occupied  by  an  industrious  and  useful  pop- 
ulation, who  must  of  necessity  live  near  the  centre  of 
business,  they  would  be  filled,  if  at  all,  by  cheap 
houses,  ten  foot  buildings,  miserable  habitations,  the 
residence  of  disease,  wretchedness,  dishonest  poverty, 
and  crime. 

The  profit  of  such  an  enterprize,  if  any  thing  could 
be  considered  profit,  which  would  recal  and  gather 


11 


together  the  miserable  population  which  lias  hereto- 
fore disgraced  one  part  of  the  City,  may  be  learned 
from  the  experience  of  the  proprietors  of  the  Mill 
Pond. 

The  situation  of  that  property  is  vastly  superior  to 
this,  as  a  place  of  business.  It  is  in  fact,  in  the  very 
centre  of  the  City,  and  contiguous  to  the  market, 
wharves,  and  all  other  places  of  industry  and  profit. 

In  the  Spring  of  1823,  there  was  a  negociation  be- 
tween the  City  and  the  Corporation,  for  the  sale  and 
purchase  of  the  lands  then  to  be  divided  between  the 
parties.  The  Corporation  offered  to  sell  or  buy,  at 
thirty  cents  per  foot!  The  City  chose  to  sell,  aud  ac* 
tually  parted  with  their  property  at  that  price. 

The  proprietors  have  paid  in  sixteen  assessments, 
a  sum  amounting,  with  interest,  to  one  hundred  and 
thirty  five  dollars  and  sixty  four  cents  on  each  share, 
and  have  received  dividends  in  land,  which,  with  in- 
terest, at  the  rate  established  by  the  City's  sale, 
amounts  to  one  hundred  and  twenty  nine  dollars  and 
twenty  five  cents,  so  that  the  expense  of  preparing  the 
land  for  sale,  exceeded  the  value  of  the  land  when 
prepared,  by  the  sum  of  six  dollars  and  thirty  nine 
cents  per  share,  in  addition  to  the  original  price  of 
the  share. 

With  all  the  excitement  of  private  enterprize,  which 
invariably  produces  a  better  result  than  public  exer- 
tion, nineteen  years  have  been  consumed  in  filling  up 
only  a  part  of  that  property,  at  a  loss  of  six  dollars 
and  thirty  nine  cents  per  share,  to  each  individual 
proprietor. 

The  Committee  are  of  opinion  therefore,  that  not 
one  dollar  of  revenue  could  be  derived  to  the  City,  by 
preparing  the  land  for  sale,  and  offering  it  in  house 
lots;  on  the  contrary,  they  are  persuaded  that  after 
the  expenditure  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars,  the  public  would  find  itself  unable  to  recover 
its  advances,  and  be  incumbered  with  the  duty  more- 


12 


over  of  paving  and  lighting  streets,  and  watching  and 
cleaning  them,  without  any  equivalent  advantage. 

The  length  of  time  necessary  for  carrying  the 
scheme  into  complete  effect,  is  in  itself  a  fatal  objec- 
tion to  its  being  attempted  by  the  City.  A  Municipal 
Corporation  has  other  objects  and  duties,  than  specu- 
lation. Its  officers  are  constautly  changing,  and  can- 
not carry  on  extensive  plans,  for  a  long  period,  to 
advantage.  If  it  be  judged  advisable  to  part  with  this 
property,  the  Committee  are  of  opinion,  that  it  should 
be  done  bv  an  entire  sale.  Let  the  whole  risdit  of  the 
City  to  the  premises,  be  sold  to  a  company  or  corpo- 
ration, who  should  give  security  to  pay  the  purchase 
money,  make  and  pave  the  streets,  to  the  acceptance 
of  disinterested  judges,  and  to  build  a  brick  dwelling 
house,  of  uniform  size,  on  each  lot,  within  a  given  pe- 
riod of  time.  This  is  all  the  public  have  to  sell,  and 
the  value  of  this  conveyance  is  all  they  have  any  right 
to  demand.  The  very  statement  of  it,  shews  the  fal- 
lacy of  the  expectations  which  some  persons  have 
been  encouraged  to  entertain.  If  it  is  of  any  decided 
value,  the  magnitude  or  the  difficulty  of  the  enter- 
prize,  will  not  debar  persons  from  engaging  in  it. 
There  is  wealth  and  spirit  enough  in  the  community, 
to  embark  in  greater  schemes  than  this  would  be,  on 
the  fair  expectation  of  a  reasonable  profit.  But  the 
Committee  are  of  opinion,  that  the  property  in  its  pre- 
sent condition,  or  as  it  may  be  easily  placed,  without 
any  unwarrantable  expense,  is  of  vastly  more  value  to 
the  citizens  of  Boston,  than  it  could  ever  be  made  by 
being  appropriated  to  building  lots. 

These  remarks  however,  on  this  topic,  do  not  apply 
to  the  whole  ground.  A  part  of  the  premises,  lying 
south  of  a  line  beginning  at  a  point  on  Charles  Street, 
1350  feet  southerly  from  the  Dam,  and  opposite  to  the 
south-west  corner  of  the  Common,  and  running  west- 
erly at  an  angle  of  85  degrees  with  Charles  Street,  to 
the  City  flats,  may,  in  the  opinion  of  this  Committee, 
without  disadvantage,  be  offered  for  sale. 


13 


This  tract  could  be  laid  out  into  fifty  seven  house 
lots.  It  could  be  easier  prepared  for  building,  than 
the  rest.  It  is  as  much  as  can  be  advantageously 
used  at  present,  and  will  not  involve  the  City  in  any 
very  serious  expenditure. 

There  are  some  objections  which  exist  even  to  this 
limited  sale;  but  as  the  heads  of  the  ropewalks  have 
stood  on  a  portion  of  this  land,  less  injury  will  arise 
from  replacing  buildings  there,  than  on  any  other  part 
of  the  land  in  question. 

To  any  further  sale,  the  Committee  are  of  opinion, 
there  are  manifest  and  insurmountable  objections. 

The  premises  in  their  present  open  and  unobstruct- 
ed condition,  are  in  the  first  place,  of  great  value,  by 
promoting  the  health  of  the  City.  By  the  blessing  of 
Heaven,  the  inhabitants  of  Boston  have  been  in  a 
great  measure  exempted  from  fatal  and  contagious 
disease. 

They  owe  their  advantage,  under  Divine  Provi- 
dence, to  the  salubrity  of  their  climate,  the  purity  of 
their  air  and  water,  and  the  great  attention  which  has 
been  paid  to  the  cleanliness  of  their  city. 

The  immense  value  of  exemption  from  contagious 
disease,  can  scarcely  be  realized,  but  by  a  contrast 
with  the  multiplied  forms  of  misery  which  have  ex- 
hausted themselves  on  our  sister  cities,  when  victims 
of  this  horrible  calamity. 

It  would  be  preposterous  to  propose  any  thing  to  an 
individual,  as  an  equivalent  for  health;  and  equally 
so,  to  consider  any  possible  pecuniary  advantage  as 
an  indemnity  to  the  public,  for  the  ravages  of  con- 
tagion. 

When  the  entire  business  of  a  whole  population  is  ' 
suspended;  when  they,  who  depend  for  subsistence 
on  daily  labor,  have  the  evils  of  sickness  increased  by 
poverty;  and  those  who  enjoy  habitations  of  tranquil- 
lity and  ease,  are  thrown  houseless  wanderers  from 
their  homes,  without  the  means  of  support;  some  re- 
gret would  be  felt  for  the  fatal  disregard  of  those  bar- 


1 1 


riers  which  had  hitherto  resisted  the  irruptions  of  the  1 
forniidahle  enemy. 

At  the  season  of  the  year  most  exposed  to  pesti- 1 
lence,  the  prevailing  winds  blow  over  the  open  green  I 
fields  of  the  country,  directly  through  the  City,  from  | 
one  extremity  to  the  other.    There  is  over  the  open  ] 
space,  which  it  is  now  proposed  to  alienate,  a  con- 
stant current  of  fresh  air,  which  revives  and  purifies 
the  entire  atmosphere  of  the  City,  not  confining  itself, 
as  has  been  erroneously  suggested,  to  the  immediate 
neighborhood  of  the  Common,  but  reaching  and  cor- 
recting, and  revivifying  w  hatever  has  breath. 

The  great  importance  of  this  incessant  stream, 
which  comes  fresh  from  the  very  fountains  of  health, 
into  the  noxious  atmosphere  of  a  crowded  population, 
diluting  the  force  of  disease  and  scattering  the  malaria 
which  are  generated  by  the  hourly  avocations  of  so 
many  thousand  beings  in  so  limited  a  space,  escapes 
our  attention,  from  the  very  fact,  that  we  have  been 
constantly  in  possession  of  it. 

It  would  be  madness  to  hazard  the  advantages  it 
procures  for  us,  on  any  scheme  of  even  profitable  spe- 
culation. The  Committee  are  of  opinion,  that  to  build 
on  the  premises,  in  any  manner,  and  much  more  to 
permit  such  buildings  as  they  think  would  necessarily 
be  erected,  if  the  land  be  sold,  would  materially 
change  the  current  of  pure  air,  into  a  mixed  atmos- 
phere, deleterious  to  the  general  health,  and  very 
likely,  at  certain  seasons,  to  generate  infectious  dis- 
eases. 

It  has  been  supposed,  that  the  land  might  be  built 
upon,  without  any  interruption  of  air — The  Commit- 
tee come  to  a  different  conclusion ;  and  every  person 
they  think  must  admit,  that  in  the  case  supposed,  the 
quality  of  this  health-giving  current  would  be  mate- 
rially changed. 

The  Committee  are  the  more  anxious  on  this  point, 
because  the  obvious  causes  for  general  enjoyment  of 
health,  which  have  hitherto  characterized  Boston,  are 


15 


in  some  degree  changed,  and  will,  in  the  ordinary 
course  of  tilings,  yearly  diminish. 

Our  hills  are  red  m  od.  The  inequality  of  the  sur- 
face of  the  City  is  for  the  advantage  of  daily  inter- 
course hy  one  improvement  after  another  becoming  less. 
Our  buildings  are  more  compact.  The  open  grounds 
and  gardens,  which  formerly  diversified  the  City,  are 
now  appropriated  to  house  lots;  and  in  many  old 
streets  nearly  twice  as  many  houses  are  erected  as 
were  there  ten  years  ago.  The  new  parts  of  the  City 
are  built  with  sjreat  economy  of  room.  Land  which 
will  accommodate  a  house  or  store  is  too  valuable  to  be 
kept  by  an  individual  for  any  other  purpose.  We 
have  gained  a  vast  deal,  in  many  respects,  by  these 
noble  improvements;  but  it  will  be  well  to  consider 
how  far  we  may  go,  without  hazarding  the  great  ob- 
ject for  which  all  the  improvements  were  projected, 
the  convenience  and  enjoyment  of  life.  It  is  easy  to 
silence  all  apprehension  of  any  injury  to  the  general 
health  of  the  community,  by  a  confident  assertion  that 
there  is  no  danger.  Possibly  there  may  be  none. 
But  is  not  the  natural  tendency  of  the  proposed  sale 
to  obstruct  the  free  circulation  of  pure  air,  and  does 
not  such  an  impediment  under  existing  circumstances, 
obviously  tend  to  pestilence  and  disease?  Let  the 
father  of  a  family  ask  himself  what  compensation  the 
utmost  value  of  the  most  extravagant  profit  ever  imag- 
ined in  this  scheme,  would  be  to  him  for  the  risk  of 
his  family's  health,  or  the  loss  of  one  of  his  children? 
It  is  to  the  middling  and  laboring  classes  that  this 
question  addresses  itself.  The  rich  man  can  procure 
shelter  aud  accommodation  every  where ;  but  the 
Common  is  the  poor  man's  garden.  It  is  a  richer, 
more  beautiful,  more  healthful  promenade  than  the 
most  expensive  establishments  of  luxury  and  wealth. 
Is  it  to  be  injured  on  any  consideration,  or  alienated 
for  any  thing  short  of  an  extravagant  remuneration? 
Is  this  donation,  which  nature  in  her  most  admired 
liberality  bestowed  on  our  forefathers,  and  which  de- 


16 

volves  on  us  by  inheritance,  to  be  alienated  from  our 
children,  curtailed  of  its  fairest  proportions  for  the 
poof  consideration  of  a  pecuniary  advantage,  even  if  it 
possessed  all  the  reality  which  an  ardent  imagination 
has  bestowed  upon  it?  The  Committee  cannot  re-  ■ 
commend  to  their  fellow  citizens  to  adopt  a  plan, 
which  in  their  humble  apprehension  would  sacrifice 
one  of  the  most  splendid  Panoramas  in  the  world,  to 
a  mean  cupidity  for  money:  which  would  sell  what 
no  wealth  could  ever  repurchase;  a  plan  that  unites 
the  certain  destruction  of  this  splendid  possession 
with  the  folly  of  disposing  of  it  without  an  equivalent. 

The  magnificent  prospect  which  is  now  enjoyed 
from  the  Common;  the  rich  and  diversified  and  lux- 
uriant scenery,  which  spreads  itself  before  us;  the 
picturesque  hills,  that  rise  majestically,  around  this 
beautiful  spot;  a  scene  of  unparalleled  beauty,  which 
never  fails  to  command  the  admiration  of  travellers, 
and  has  hitherto  been  our  pride;  would,  by  the  pro- 
posed buildings,  be  wholly  concealed  behind  a  range 
of  brick  walls. 

It  has  been  supposed  otherwise,  because  the  plan, 
already  often  referred  to,  exhibits  the  water  and  hills 
of  Brookline  and  Roxbury,  in  full  view,  over  the  tops 
of  the  contemplated  houses.  It  is  manifest  however, 
that  a  block  of  buildings,  forty  five  feet  above  Charles 
Street,  would  wholly  obstruct  the  view  of  the  country, 
from  a  spectator  in  the  Mali;  and  the  Committee 
found,  with  some  surprize,  that  to  avoid  shutting  out 
this  prospect,  so  much  admired  by  every  person  of  in- 
telligence or  taste,  the  Artist  had  taken  ids  perspect- 
ive, not  from  the  level  of  the  streets  in  the  vicinity, 
but  from  the  top  of  the  pillars  of  St.  Paul's  Church! 
It  cannot  be  necessary  to  make  any  comment  on  this 
extraordinary  fact. 

In  the  consideration  of  this  subject,  the  Committee 
have  not  confined  themselves  to  the  plan  presented  at 
Faneuil  Hall,  for  the  inspection  of  their  fellow  citi- 
zens.   Having  become-  sensible  that  that  plan  was 


17 


altogether  erroneous,  they  attended  to  some  others 
proposed  by  different  individuals;  and  indeed  it  is 
apparent  that  if  the  power  to  sell  should  be  confirmed 
by  the  inhabitants,  there  is  no  guaranty  that  the  pro- 
posed plan  will  be  executed,  or  ever  attempted.  The 
power  proposed  to  be  conferred  on  the  City  Council 
is  without  limitation  or  restriction,  and  would  be  well 
executed  by  a  resale  to  the  Ropewalk  Proprietors,  or 
other  persons,  for  the  same  or  other  objects  than  were 
formerly  pursued ;  and  with  liberty  to  erect  buildings 
of  one  story  or  four,  as  their  convenience  might  indi- 
cate, without  uniformity  of  design  or  similarity  of  pur- 
pose; and  the  Committee  conceive  that  this  alone 
would  be  an  insurmountable  objection  to  an  answer  in 
the  affirmative  to  the  first  question  proposed;  as  surely 
their  fellow  citizens  would  not  be  willing  to  grant  an 
unlimited  power  to  sell  at  any  time  or  price,  or  for 
any  purposes  for  which  land  might  be  wanted. 

It  has  been  proposed  by  some  persons,  to  convert 
a  part  of  the  ground  into  a  public  Cemetery,  with  pro- 
per Tombs,  in  which  all  classes  of  our  fellow  citizens 
might  be  sure  tht  bodies  of  their  deceased  friends 
would  be  sacredly  preserved.  This  project  is  per- 
haps one  that  deserves  the  most  serious  consideration 
of  the  citizens,  and  has  the  strongest  recommendation 
of  the  Committee.  They  are  aware  that  the  difficulty 
*of  offering  a  plan  of  improvement  for  the  premises, 
wholly  free  from  objections,  would  be  invincible,  but 
the  only  ones  that  have  been  made  to  this,  are,  that 
such  an  appropriation,  may  render  the  air  impure,  and 
may  not  comport  with  the  cheerfulness  and  pleasure 
usually  sought  for  in  a  public  promenade.  The  first 
may  be  obviated  by  the  recollection  which  must  oc- 
cur to  every  reflecting  mind,  that  the  City  Author- 
ities, under  whose  management  the  Tombs  will  be 
constructed,  can  and  will  carefully  provide  against 
any  such  consequence:  to  the  latter  objection,  as  it 
results  from  sentiment  and  feeling,  any  reasoning  that 
could  be  adopted  might  not  effect  its  removal;  but  the 
3 


18 


Committee  are  strongly  impressed  with  the  belief,  that 
much  opposition  from  this  cause  is  not  to  be  appre- 
hended, when  it  is  considered  that  the  arrangements 
and  precautions  used  in  this  new  Cemetery  will  dimin- 
ish or  cure  an  evil  existing  in  the  old  burying  grounds, 
which  will  gradually  fall  into  disuse  in  consequence 
of  better  accommodations  in  this  new  one.    In  fact, 
the  objection  will  be  founded  upon  an  imaginary  and 
not  a  real  inconvenience.    Moreover,  as  this  land  is 
separated  from  the  rest  of  the  Common,  by  Charles 
Street,  the  cheerful  and  the  gay  need  not  extend  their 
excursions  to  a  spot,  where  any  abatement  of  their  en- 
joyment will  be  occasioned,  while  the  contemplative 
may  there  iudulge  their  feelings,  with  a  prospect  of 
what  can  best  produce  a  moral  advautage.  The  Com- 
mittee wish  not  to  disguise  their  sincere  opinion,  that 
great  and  indescribable  benefits  will  be  continued  to 
the  City,  by  keeping  the  flats  unincumbered  with 
buildings;  and  that,  if  a  few  incousiderable  disad- 
vantages shall  really  exist  to  the  plan,  herein  propo- 
sed, they  ought  to  be  merged  in  the  good,  they  have 
endeavored  to  prove,  must  result  to  this  community, 
by  adopting  it.    Thus  by  consecrating  this  section  of 
the  Common  to  such  an  object,  the  most  permanent 
protection  will  he  given  to  the  local  superiority  of 
their  City,  over  every  other.    They  moreover  think, 
that  the  partial  sale  of  the  land,  according  to  the  plan 
herewith  presented,  the  sale  of  the  tombs,  and  a  sub- 
scription by  the  citizens,  (reasonably  to  be  expected, 
should  this  project  be  adopted.)  will  altogether,  pro- 
duce a  greater  revenue,  than  can  be  obtained  in  any 
other  way:  and  be  at  the  same  time,  wholly  free  from 
every  objection  that  any  other  scheme  would  create. 

A  public  walk,  and  free  road  to  Brookline,  are  con- 
templated by  another  plan;  and  accommodation  for 
military  exercise  and  the  deposite  of  military  stores, 
is  provided  by  others.  These  are  yet  immature.  It 
is  evident  they  are  produced,  not  because  the  public 
require  these  improvements,  but  in  the  earnest  wish  of 


19 

good  citizens  to  prevent  an  abuse  of  the  property  in 
question,  which  they  look  upon  as  little  better  than 
sarrilege.    It  cannot  however,  be  doubted,  that  in  fu- 
ture time,  the  ground  will  be  required  for  some  of  the 
many  objects  connected  with  a  great  city,  that  may 
unite  profit  with  health.    In  the  mean  time,  the  land 
will  increase  in  value:  every  day  adds  to  its  worth: 
and  when  hereafter,  it  is  actually  wanted,  it  will 
bring  more  money  into  the  treasury,  for  whatever 
purpose  it  may  be  used,  than  now,  when  it  must 
chiefly  be  taken  for  objects  of  speculation.   In  coming 
to  the  results,  herein  expressed,  the  Committee  arc 
happy  to  find,  that  they  are  not  at  variance  with  any 
act  or  opinion  of  the  City  Government. 

By  proposing  this  subject  for  consideration,  the 
City  Council  have  discovered  that  regard  for  the  opin- 
ions and  wishes  of  their  constituents,  which  entitles 
them  to  confidence  and  respect;  but  it  would  be  un- 
fair to  suppose  that  the  presenting  of  a  scheme  for  de- 
liberation, implied  a  desire  to  adopt  it.  The  reverse 
is  to  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  the  City  Govern- 
ment have  not  accompanied  their  questions  with  any 
recommendation,  one  way  or  the  other;  nor  with  any 
statement  of  the  practicability  of  any  particular  pro- 
ject; nor  with  any  official  sanction  of  the  plan  which 
was  exhibited — and  it  is  believed  that,  with  the  same 
information  which  it  has  been  the  duty  of  this  Com- 
mittee to  obtain,  the  City  Council  would  come  to  the 
same  conclusion. 

The  Committee  cannot,  therefore,  close  their  report, 
without  expressing  the  hope,  that  at  a  time,  when  the 
wealth,  the  pride,  and  the  public  spirit  of  the  citizens, 
are  every  where  devoted  to  the  improvement  and  or- 
nament of  our  beloved  City,  and  to  the  maintenance  of 
its  high  reputation  for  the  utility  of  its  public  institu- 
tions; the  comfort  of  its  accommodations,  and  the  in- 
telligence and  liberality  of  its  inhabitants;  a  project 
should  not  for  a  moment  be  encouraged,  which  would 
despoil  it  of  its  peculiar  magnificence.  To  recommend 


20 


iis  adoption,  would  be  10  suppose  that,  iustead  of  the 
love  of  improvement,  we  had  imbibed  a  spirit  of  deso- 
lation; that  we  had  become  retrograde  in  civilization; 
that  instead  of  the  intelligence  and  refinement  of  a 
polished  and  cultivated  age,  the  barbarism  of  Gothir 
rudeness  was  revived,  regardless,  as  it  is  ignorant,  of 
every  thing  beautiful  in  nature,  or  elegant  in  art. 

The  Committee  therefore,  having  taken  the  liberty 
to  add  three  questions,  to  the  two  which  were  special- 
ly submitted  to  their  consideration,  respectfully  recom- 
mend, that  they  should  all  be  proposed  at  the  same 
time  upon  one  ballot  for  the  decision  of  their  fellow 
citizens.  They  are  aware  that  in  doing  this,  they 
may  subject  themselves  to  a  charge  of  having  construed 
their  powers  too  liberally ;  but,  believing  as  they  do, 
that  the  public  expected  from  them,  the  expression  of 
their  opinion  as  to  the  best  mode  of  appropriating  the 
flats,  they  are  under  the  conviction,  that  this  is  the 
most  judicious  method  for  ascertaining  the  sense  of 
the  inhabitants  as  to  that  opinion,  and  that  it  will  pre- 
vent much  inconvenience  and  delay.  They  further 
recommend,  that  the  answer  to  the  first  question  be  NO, 
and  that  the  answer  to  the  four  last  questions  be  YES ; 
satisfied  in  their  own  minds,  that  such  replies,  the  pro- 
priety of  which,  they  trust  will  be  established  by  their 
reasoning  in  the  foregoing  report,  will  best  promote  the 
sole  object  they  have  in  view,  the  welfare  of  the  City. 

Question  No.  1.  Shall  the  City  Council  have  au- 
thority to  make  sale  of  all  the  upland  and  flats  owned 
by  the  City,  lying  west  of  Charles  Street,  on  such 
terms  and  at  such  times  as  they  deem  expedient  ? 

Question  No.  2.  Shall  they  have  authority  to  an- 
nex it  as  a  condition  to  such  sales,  that  the  land  know  n 
by  the  name  of  the  Common,  and  lying  between  Charles, 
Beacon,  Park,  Common  and  Boylston  Streets,  shall  be 
foreverafter  kept  open  and  free  of  buildings  of  any  kind, 
for  the  use  of  the  citizens? 

Question  No.  3,  Shall  the  City  Council  be  author- 
ized to  bring  the  question  of  boundaries  between  the 


21 


City  and  the  Boston  and  Roxbury  Mill  Corporation 
to  a  settlement,  and  for  that  purpose,  be  authorized  to 
renew  or  confirm  the  former  grants  aud  acts  of  the 
Town,  with  respect  to  said  Corporation,  on  such 
terms  and  conditions,  as  the  City  Council  may  deem 
expedient:  Provided,  that  no  confirmation  or  convey- 
ance be  made,  in  virtue  of  their  vote,  to  authorize  the 
erection  of  dwelling  houses  or  other  buildings,  on  any 
part  of  the  premises? 

Question  No.  4.  Shall  the  City  Council  be  author- 
ized to  prepare  for  sale,  and  to  convey  on  such  terms 
and  conditions  as  they  may  deem  fit,  so  much  of  the  up- 
land and  flats,  as  lay  southerly  of  a  line  beginning  at 
a  point,  on  Charles  Street,  1350  feet  southerly  from 
the  Dam  belonging  to  the  Boston  and  Roxbury  Mill 
Corporation,  and  opposite  to  the  south-westerly  corner 
of  the  Common,  and  running  westerly,  at  an  angle  of 
85  degrees,  with  Charles  Street,  to  the  bounds  of  the 
City's  flats:  Provided,  there  be  annexed  to  all  such 
conveyances,  a  condition  that  the  Common  and  all  the 
upland  and  flats,  lying  westerly  therefrom,  shall  for- 
everafter,  be  kept  free  from,  and  unincumbered  with, 
all  buildings? 

Question  No.  5.  Shall  the  City  Council,  when- 
ever in  their  opinion,  the  convenience  of  the  inhabit- 
ants requires,  be  authorized  to  lay  out  any  part  of  the 
land  and  flats,  lying  westerly  from  the  Common,  for  a 
Cemetery,  and  erect  and  sell  Tombs  therein,  on  such 
terms  and  conditions,  as  they  may  deem  proper? 

All  which,  is  respectfully  submitted. 

JNO.  T.  APTHORP,  Chairman-, 

JOHN  BRAZER  DAVIS,  Secretary. 
Boston,  October  8,  1824. 


SKETCH 

Of  that  portion  of  the  Land  referred  to,  in 
QUESTION  No.  4. 


BOSTON  COLLEGE 


3  9031  033  43015  8 


MUOIPLE  VOLUMES  SOt  WD  rn^rryrp 


ODBLIUBM  «N  COLLEGE 


